Monday, July 11, 2016

Steve Gunn - Spacin -- Black Cat - Jul 10 2016

by John Miller

Spacin - Spacin meander on stage about ten after eight. The crowd
follows, slowly making their way into the Back Room. It's quiet but to be
honest, I expected as much. Spacin have to compete with uncharacteristically
nice weather. Beer in hand, Jason Killinger introduces his four piece as they
stumble into their first piece. It's decidedly lo-fi fuzz that begins quietly enough before
morphing into a four minute riff. Hailing from Philadelphia, Spacin is
supporting their latest, 'Total Freedom', and if it's anything like this set, it
is probably well worth the listen. Jason keeps it light, asking for a bottle
opener during an impromptu intermission. The drums thud while the bass follows
along. Jason fiddles with his beverage. For such a laid back set there is a lot
of shredding tonight. The lead guitarist is doing a killer job of keeping
things exciting. Structurally the songs are interesting; big hooks followed by
sludge, that find their way back to the hooks. Really solid. The room has
filled out nicely as the back half of the set begins. Things slow down and take
on a more psychedelic bent, before the three piece drum set begins. And
seemingly out of nowhere another endless hook. Great set.

photo: Geoff Tischman

Steve Gunn - Formally
of Kurt Vile's backing band, The Violaters,
Brooklyn based Steve Gunn is supporting his latest album Eyes on the
Lines (his
seventh release since 2013). I don't know if it is because I have read
so many
reviews of David's but I feel like I have seen Kurt Vile multiple times.
So I
am excited to see what Steve Gunn is all about. I wasn't expecting so
much
twang; the first piece has a lot of slide guitar that plays well with
Steve's
voice. It's a nice complement before the two guitarists battle it out.
With the
reviews read about his most recent release, I expected something a lot
slower.
I kept seeing words like contemplative, journey, direction and expected a
slow trek
out west; taking in each landscape with a cool, measured thought. The
bass is
good; not quite mid range, not quite low end, not exactly emphasizing
every bump in the
road but rather letting the shocks do their job. At times the
guitars move at a blistering pace, shredding in between Steve and the
drums.
And considering how measured he is, I am surprised how loud they get.
The
earlier reviews also misled me as well. Kurt Vile's sets reminded David
of early Pink Floyd and Velvet Underground. That’s not to say they were
wrong,
I just assumed Gunn might follow suit. His
pieces are much more up tempo. As if he were on a mission; racing
through the
south. While it isn't quite a madcap race to the end, it is certainly at
least 10 to
15 miles above the speed limit; like an old pickup rumbling down dirt
country
road.